White flight

White flight was the migration of middle-class white populations from racially-mixed urban regions of the United States to homogenous suburban areas. White flight began in the 1950s with "blockbusting", a real estate strategy that convinced wealthy white people to sell their homes and move to the suburbs out of fear that African-Americans and other minorities were moving into neighborhoods; while the whites would buy expensive real estate in the suburbs, poorer minorities would settle in cheaper buildings in urban areas. This practice transformed The Bronx borough of New York City from an upper-class white (notably Jewish) area into a poor African-American and Hispanic area during the 1960s, starting de facto segregation. White flight is closely related to the "Great Migration", the migration of rural African-Americans into urban centers, as many whites moved to the suburbs to become commuters, while African-Americans moved into cities to become laborers. During the 21st century, white flight died down, if not slightly reversed, as white suburban youths moved into cities for school or to start their own lives and careers. Nevertheless, white flight's impact can still be seen in the poor inner cities and in the development of the wealthy suburban lifestyle.